Shower Curtains

ABSTRACT

An improved shower curtain may reduce or eliminate the shower curtain effect and work with any standard shower rod. The shower curtain may include pockets and elongated members disposed substantially vertically within the pockets. The elongated members may be removable from the pockets or the pockets may be sealed to prevent removal of the elongated members. The shower curtain body may also include weighted members disposed in auxiliary pockets located along a lower portion of the curtain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present application relates to shower curtains.

2. Related Art

Showers have been around for centuries, dating back to at least the ancient Greeks, and shower curtains undoubtedly were used a few days later. Ever since, people have attempted to solve the problem known as the shower-curtain effect, the phenomenon in which a shower curtain gets blown inward toward a bather as the water runs from the showerhead. Physicists have yet to determine the definitive cause of this effect, and to date there is no ideal solution to prevent this phenomena from disrupting some of the few moments of solitude most of us get in today's world.

Currently, there are two approaches taken to reduce the shower curtain effect. Under a first approach, specialized shower assemblies have been designed with, for example, bowed rods and other specialized equipment to help keep the curtain physically away from the bather. However, these assemblies are expensive and difficult to install and repair. Under the second approach, magnets and suction cups have been attached to the bottom of shower curtains to enable a user to stick the curtain to the tub. But these approaches have drawbacks of their own; magnets require a magnetic tub and suction cups are inconsistent and degraded over time. And both require effort from the bather to attach and re-attach the magnets or suction cups several times during a typical shower, such as upon entering and exiting the shower.

Accordingly, a need has long existed for an improved shower curtain.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, an improved shower curtain may reduce or eliminate the shower curtain effect and work with any standard shower rod. The shower curtain may include pockets and elongated members disposed substantially vertically within the pockets. The elongated members may be removable from the pockets or the pockets may be sealed to prevent removal of the elongated members. The shower curtain body may also include one or more secondary pockets disposed along the lower portion of the curtain for holding weighted members.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be, or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and technical advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary shower curtain;

FIG. 2 shows the exemplary curtain of FIG. 1 with an exemplary longitudinal member shown outside of an exemplary pocket;

FIG. 3 shows another view of an exemplary pocket of the exemplary shower curtain shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary shower curtain in use with a typical shower rod and bath tub; and

FIG. 5 shows another exemplary shower curtain.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The elements illustrated in the Figures interoperate as explained in more detail below. Before setting forth the detailed explanation, however, it is noted that all of the discussion below, regardless of the particular implementation being described, is exemplary in nature, rather than limiting.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an exemplary shower curtain 10 is shown. The shower curtain 10 may securable to a shower rod using known techniques and may resist movement caused by air flow generated during a shower. The shower curtain 10 may include a body portion 11 having a plurality of apertures 12. The shower curtain 10 may also include one or more pockets 20 a-e. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the shower curtain 10 may include a first pocket 20 a, a second pocket 20 b, a third pocket 20 c, a fourth pocket 20 d and a fifth pocket 20 e. The pockets 20 a-e may be disposed about a corresponding one of axes 14 a-e. The pockets 20 a-e also may be dimensioned to receive a longitudinal member 30.

The body portion 11 may be dimensioned to correspond to typical shower curtain sizes. For example, the body portion 11 may be 70″×70″, 72″×72″, or 70″×72″. In alternate embodiments, the width of the body portion 11 may be 36″, 54″, or 60″. Other sizes also may be used. Body portion 11 may be made of plastic (such as PEVA/EVA), vinyl, fabric, and the like. Any other suitable material also may be used.

Apertures 12 may be disposed near a top end of body portion 11 and may receive shower curtain hooks and the like for securing the shower curtain 10 to a shower rod. In some embodiments, apertures 12 may be defined using grommets. In the illustrated embodiment, twelve apertures 12 are provided about equally spaced apart from one another.

Pockets 20 a-e may be disposed at various positions on the body portion 11. Pockets 20 a-e may be made of plastic (such as PEVA/EVA), vinyl, fabric, or any other suitable material. The pockets 20 a-e may made of the same material as the body portion 11, or different material may be used for pockets 20 a-e. The pockets 20 a-e may be attached to the body portion using a variety of methods. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, pockets 20 a-e may be stitched to the body portion 11. Alternatively, or additionally, the pockets 20 a-e may be attached to the body portion 11 by ultrasonic welding, impulse sealing, or other methods. Each pocket 20 a-e may be attached to the body portion 11 using the same method, or different methods may be used to attach one or more of the pockets 20 a-e.

The pockets 20 a-e each may be dimensioned to receive a longitudinal member 30. In the illustrated embodiment, longitudinal member 30 is substantially straight, so pockets 20 a-e are also substantially straight. Alternatively, or additionally, pockets 20 a-e may be shaped differently to accommodate differently shaped longitudinal members 30.

Pockets 20 a-e may be about 35″-65″ long and about 0.25″-3″ wide, preferably about 45″-55″ long and about 0.5″-2.5″ wide, and more preferably about 48″-52″ and about 1″-2″ wide. In the illustrated embodiment, the pockets 20 a-e are about 50″ long and about 2″ wide. Other lengths and sizes may also be used. In some embodiments, the pockets 20 a-e may have a length between about 30-80% of a length of the body portion 11.

Pockets 20 a-e may be vertically disposed relative to the bottom of the body portion 11. For example, for a 70″ long body portion, pockets 20 a-e may be disposed between about 0″-18″ from the bottom of body portion 11, preferably between about 4″-14″ from the bottom of body portion 11, and even more preferably between about 8″-12″ from body portion. In the illustrated embodiment, pockets 20 a-e are disposed about 10″ from the bottom of body portion 11. Alternatively, the pockets 20 a-e may be vertically disposed based on a percentage of the length of the body portion 11. For example, in some embodiments the pockets may be vertically disposed from the bottom of the body portion 11 by between about 0-33% of a total length of the body portion 11. Other offset lengths and/or percentages may also be used.

Pockets 20 a-e may be horizontally aligned relative to the apertures 12. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, pockets 20 a-e are horizontally centered between the apertures. Alternatively, or additionally, pockets 20 a-e may be aligned directly under apertures 12 or using any other spacing. In the illustrated embodiment, pockets 20 a and 20 e are disposed between the two left-most and right-most apertures 12, respectively, pocket 20 c is disposed between the two center apertures 12, and pockets 20 b and 20 d are disposed between the next two apertures left and right of the two center apertures 12, respectively. Alternatively, pockets 20 a-e may be disposed in other configurations.

In the illustrated embodiments, pockets 20 a-e open toward the top of body portion 11 (toward apertures 12) to allow for the removal of longitudinal members. Pockets 20 a-e also may open to one or more other sides. In some embodiments, pockets 20 a-e are closed such that longitudinal members cannot be removed. Alternatively, or additionally, pockets 20 a-e may be closable via snaps, buttons, hook-and-loop fasteners and the like to secure a longitudinal member 30 in the pocket 20 a-e.

Pockets 20 a-e may be disposed about corresponding axes 14 a-e. In the illustrated embodiment, axes 14 a-e are substantially vertical axes (i.e. 90° relative to a line defined by the top or bottom of the body portion 11). Alternatively, or additionally, axes 14 a-e may be offset by up to about 15-20°. In some embodiments, pockets 20 a-e are disposed along similar axes (e.g. parallel vertical axes). In other embodiments, some or all of axes 14 a-e may be at different angles.

Longitudinal members 30 may be disposed in pockets 20 a-e, providing a shape and/or weight to enable shower curtain 10 to resist movement caused by air flow generated during a shower. Longitudinal members 30 may be made of plastic (such as acrylic), metal (such as aluminum), or any other suitable material. The longitudinal members 30 may be between about 33″-63″ long, preferably about 43″-53″ long and about, and more preferably about 46″-50″. The width of longitudinal members 30 may be between about Longitudinal members 30 may weigh between about 2-10 ounces, preferably between about 3-8 oz, and even more preferably between about 4-6 ounces. In some embodiments, the length of longitudinal members 30 may be between about 30%-80% of the total length of the body portion 11. Each longitudinal member 30 may be the same length, or one or more of longitudinal members 30 may be a different length than other longitudinal members 30.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, longitudinal members 30 are straight rods about 48″ inches long, about 0.4″ wide and weight about 5.5 ounces. Other lengths, weights, and shapes may also be used. For example, longitudinal members 30 may be oval, rectangular, U-shaped, or the like. In some embodiments, longitudinal members 30 may include multiple pieces disposed in a single pocket 20. For example, each longitudinal member 30 may comprise two or more pieces that are stacked in a single pocket 20, or multiple pockets 20 may be disposed along the same axis 14 for one or more components of a longitudinal member 30. As another example, a longitudinal member 30 may comprise weighted pellets or the like that are provided in a given pockets 20, which provides the overall shape.

Longitudinal members 30 may be transparent or opaque. In some embodiments, longitudinal members 30 may be colored or shaped to provide a decorative element to show curtain 30. Longitudinal members 30 may be the same color as the pockets 20 a-e and/or body portion 11 of the shower curtain 10, or different colors may be used for the different elements. Other variations may also be used.

Referring to FIG. 4, an exemplary shower curtain 10 is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, shower curtain is hung on a typical shower rod using curtain hooks disposed through apertures 12. As the shower runs and air currents are generated, the placement, shape and weight of the longitudinal members 30 a-e provided in the pockets 20 a-e enable the shower curtain 10 to resist movement and thereby provide a better shower experience.

Referring to FIG. 5, another exemplary shower curtain 110 is shown. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the shower curtain 110 includes apertures 112 and pockets 120 a-e housing longitudinal members 130 a-e as described above. In addition, the shower curtain 110 shown in FIG. 5 also includes a set of auxiliary pockets 140 a-e for receiving weighted members 150 a-e to further weigh down the lower portion of the shower curtain 110. In the illustrated embodiment, auxiliary pockets 140 a-e are disposed directly underneath pockets 120 a-e. Alternatively, or additionally, auxiliary pockets 140 a-e may be spaced apart from pockets 120 a-e. Auxiliary pockets 140 a-e may be shaped to accommodate weight members 150 a-e. In the illustrated embodiment, auxiliary pockets 140 a-e are about 2″×2″.

Weighted members 150 a-e may be made of plastic (such as acrylic), metal (such as aluminum), stone, wood or any other suitable material. Weighted members 150 a-e may be a single piece, or multiple pieces (such as weighted pellets) may be used. In some embodiments, one or more of weighted members 150 a-e may be magnets. Weighted members 150 a-e preferably weigh between about 1-10 ounces, more preferably between about 3-7 ounces, and in one embodiment about 5 ounces. Weighted members 150 a-e may be shaped circular, rectangular, or any other shape.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. 

I claim:
 1. A shower curtain comprising: a body portion; a plurality of pockets attached to the body portion; and a plurality of longitudinal elements disposed in the pockets.
 2. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the longitudinal elements are removable from the pockets.
 3. The shower curtain of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of apertures disposed along an upper portion of the body portion.
 4. The shower curtain of claim 3, where the pockets are disposed between the apertures.
 5. The shower curtain of claim 4, where the pockets are disposed about half-way between two adjacent apertures.
 6. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the pockets are disposed between about 8-12″ from a bottom of the body portion.
 7. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the pockets are between about 35-60″ long.
 8. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the longitudinal members are between about 45-55″ long.
 9. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the longitudinal members weight between about 2-10 ounces.
 10. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the pockets are closable.
 11. The shower curtain of claim 1, further comprising: an auxiliary pocket for receiving a weighted member.
 12. The shower curtain of claim 11, where the weighted member is a magnet.
 13. The shower curtain of claim 11, where the auxiliary pocket is disposed adjacent to one of the plurality of pockets.
 14. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the pockets are attached to the body portion by one selected from the group consisting of stitching, ultrasonic welding and impulse sealing.
 15. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the longitudinal members are substantially straight rods.
 16. The shower curtain of claim 1, where the pockets are disposed substantially vertically.
 17. A shower curtain comprising: a body portion; a plurality of apertures disposed along an upper portion of the body portion; a plurality of pockets disposed on the body portion, each of the plurality of pockets disposed about halfway between an associated pair of the plurality of apertures; and a plurality of substantially straight rods disposed in the pockets.
 18. The shower curtain of claim 17, where the plurality of substantially straight rods are acrylic.
 19. The shower curtain of claim 17, further comprising: an auxiliary pocket disposed along a lower portion of the body portion; and a weighted member disposed in the auxiliary pocket.
 20. A shower curtain comprising: a body portion; and a pocket disposed on the body portion, the pocket having a length between about 30-80% of a length of the body portion. 